Statistic Report

Published report of Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) in Feb, 2008 which include wind energy developments in more than 70 countries around the world, show that the year saw the installation of 20,073 MW, taking the total installed wind energy capacity to 94,122 MW, up from 74,133 MW in 2006.

In terms of economic value, the wind energy sector has now become firmly installed as one of the important players in the energy markets, with the total value of new generating equipment installed in 2007 reaching €25 billion, orUS$36 billion.

The countries with the highest total installed capacity are Germany (22247 MW), the USA (16818 MW), Spain (15145 MW),   India (8000 MW) and China (6050 MW).

In terms of new installed capacity in 2007, the US continued to lead with 5244 MW, followed by Spain (3522 MW), China (3449 MW), India (1730 MW) and Germany (1667 MW) and France (880 MW). This growth shows that new players such as Spain and China are gaining ground. 

Europe is still leading the market with 57,135 MW of installed capacity at the end of 2007, representing 61% of the global total which produce 119 TWh in an average wind year. Wind energy is now increasing more than any other power technology in Europe, making up 40% of total new power installations in 2007.
Despite the continuing growth in Europe, the general trend shows that the sector is gradually becoming less dependent on a few key markets, and other regions are starting to catch up with Europe. The 43% growth in the European market in 2007 accounted for about half the total new capacity, down from nearly three quarters in 2004.

Asia has experienced the strongest increase in installed capacity outside of Europe, with an addition of 5,436 MW, taking the continent over 16,091 MW. In 2007, the continent grew by 51% and accounted for 27% of new installations. The strongest market here remains India with over 1,730 MW of new installed capacity, which takes its total figure up to 8000 MW.
China added 3,449 MW of wind energy capacity in added during this year, representing market growth of double over 2007, and now ranks fifth in installed wind energy capacity with over 6,050 MW at the end of 2007. Thanks to renewable energy law which has been applied from beginning of January 2006, Chinese market has grown substantially in 2007.
28% of the world’s new wind capacity was installed in North America, where the annual market increased by 43% over the previous year, gaining momentum in both the US and Canada.
The US reported a record 5,244 MW installed in 2007, making it the country with the most new wind power for the third year running.
Canada also had a record year, with the new installed capacity of 386 MW in 2007 and reached to 1846 MW total capacity.
Growth in the relatively young African and Middle Eastern market picked up considerably in 2007, with 159 MW of new installed capacity, bringing the total up to 528 MW. This represents a 43% growth, and should be seen as a promising signs for future developments. The main countries experiencing are Egypt (310 MW, up from 230 MW), Morocco (114 MW, up from 54 MW) and Iran (66 MW, up from 47 MW).    

Australia had an exceptionally weak year with only 7 MW of new installations and 824 MW in total. But it seems that the change in government at the end of 2007 spurs hopes for a brighter future for wind energy in 2008.

While energy supply security and climate change are ranging high on the political agendum of the world’s governments, wind energy has already become a main stream energy source in many countries around the world. Wind energy is clean and fuel free, which makes it the most attractive solution to the world’s energy challenges.